A rare and historic building with particular significance for downtown Eau Claire is scheduled to re-open as The Livery, aka Cowtown Saloon, in early March according to the owners. From the late 1880s to the 1920s, Oleson’s Livery was a solid downtown business that thrived on horse rentals. Because they didn’t own horses, city-folk needed to contact the livery if they wanted to travel within town, fetch a doctor, or move a household. In the 1920s, as automobiles wiped out the demand for horses, Oleson’s became associated with the auto industry. As one of only 19 intact livery buildings in the nation, memorabilia and photographs will be prominently displayed in the restaurant and bar. Owners Lisa Aspenson and John Mogensen, who also own Mona Lisa’s, Stella Blues, The Red Room, and Mogie’s Pub, spent two and a half years preserving the entire structure of the historic stable and readying it for business. The brick-facade restaurant, which still has a garage door tall enough for horses, will serve “modern comfort food” on its second floor and will offer cozy outdoor seating near a fireplace.